Serialized internet-based postage systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,319,562 and 6,005,945 to Whitehouse have revolutionized the US Postal Service. In 2011, over 3 billion dollars in postage is generated using the technology described in these patents, reflecting an annual growth rate of over 20%. This amount represents about 6% of the total US Postal Service revenue. In contrast, older methods of postage evidencing have been on the decline for 5 or more years. Serialized postage is both more accessible to the end user because it is internet-based, and more secure (from the standpoint of revenue protection and Homeland Security) as each stamp carries unique serial and account numbers. The unique serial and account numbers can be, for example, in the form of barcodes.
One limitation of internet-based postage is the time it takes for a single postage transaction. The postage server cluster itself that creates the indicium is relatively fast, taking typically less than 100 milliseconds to create a serialized, digitally-signed indicium. However, each indicium is obtained via an internet transaction which may consume one or more seconds. The one or more seconds are attributable to internet transmission latency. A typical Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) message often traverses 10 or 20 intermediary routing computer servers and do this in both directions. Each routing computer server typically consumes about 20 milliseconds to about 60 milliseconds.
Certain postage transactions (e.g., shipping labels) are not as impacted by this latency, as the process of inputting address data and printing a shipping label takes a much longer time than the one or more second messaging for the indicium. However, if one is printing a simple stamp, the stamp not being associated with a specific address, the one or more second communication process becomes a noticeable delay. If one is printing more than one stamp (e.g., a sheet of 12 or 25 stamps), the communications delay becomes even more pronounced. Indeed, in this case, the delay may approach a minute for a sheet of 25 stamps.
Conventional stamps, such as the stamp 10 shown 10 FIG. 1, are printed by contractors to the US Postal Service. Since these stamps (e.g., stamp 10) are not serialized, they must be manufactured in a secure plant which has a full time United States Postal Service (USPS) Inspector on site. When shipped from these plants, the trucks carrying these physical stamps must be escorted by armed guards. This type of stamp (e.g., stamp 10) is subject to theft, counterfeiting, and re-use.
Many user or mailers still prefer to purchase a sheet of stamps. One can purchase stamps such as stamps 10 with a trip to the Post Office, have them delivered by mail, buy them at a supermarket, or more recently buy them at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). FIG. 4 depicts a conventional ATM that is configured to distribute a sheet of stamps (e.g., stamp 10) upon payment with a credit card or debit card.
In all the above cases, the stamps sold presently are conventional stamps such as stamp 10. However, many of these venues would prefer to print stamps on demand to eliminate inventory and security issues.
In order to cure the above and other deficiencies of prior vending systems, a system and method to retrieve large volumes of indicia relatively quickly is provided so that the end-user transaction can be expeditiously handled, even during heavy traffic times such as around the end of the year holidays.